31 October 2014

Tanzania-based low-cost airline, Fastjet, has teamed up with Coastal Aviation to offer flights between OR Tambo International Airport (JNB) in Johannesburg and Abeid Amani Karume International Airport (ZNZ) on Zanzibar. Fastjetoperates three flights per week between Johannesburg and Julius Nyerere International Airport (DAR) in Dar es Salaam departing at 23.20, arriving at 03.55am. A Coastal Aviation representative meets Fastjet's passengers at the airport and helps them to transfer to Terminal 1 and check in to the connecting flight to Zanzibar, departing at 7.30am. Return flights operate on the same days, leaving Zanzibar at 17:15 for the 20-minute flight to Dar es Salaam and then connecting to the Fastjetflight that lands back in Johannesburg at 22:30. Due to the smaller size of the Coastal Aviation aircraft passengers may only carry one complimentary cabin bag weighing maximum 20kg and no larger than 56cm x 45cm x 25cm.

30 October 2014

update (13 Nov 2014): The Blyde Bridge is open at the moment! It will be closed again for half of Friday and half of Saturday, then it will be open until the next closure in a week to 10days time. (via Kruger2Canyon)Well' keep you posted!

Travellers planning to visit Hoedspruit via the R527 should be aware that the Blyde Bridge, located on the border of the Ndlovumzi Nature Reserve towards Hoedspruit (just before the R531 goes south towards the Selati Game Reserve) will be closed during November 2014 due to repairs. Kruger2Canyon, a regional community newspaper, reports that the bridge crossing the Blyde River will close for 10+ days from 03 November 2014 and again for another 10+ days later in November 2014. According to the newspaper, the bridge will be open during night from 16:30 - 06:30am. We marked the Blyde Bridge (R527) on a Google Map for better orientation [link].

South African travel and outdoor publication Getaway Magazine published a 48-page booklet about off-roading in Namibia in its September 2014 issue. The "Getaway Guide to Off-Roading in Namibia" is now available as a free download (pdf) on the magazine's website. It provides an overview over some of the best 4x4 routes in Namibia, including advice on where to camp, road conditions and vehicle support. Kudos Getaway Magazine!

28 October 2014

South African animal behaviourist Kevin Richardson, also known as the "lion whisperer", posted a video to YouTube (via GoPro's youtube channel) offering a piggyback view of a lioness named Meg hunting down a water buck in the wild. The rare video was filmed by strapping a GoPro camera onto the animal’s back. Eish!

Rwandais set to introduce new visa rules effective 01 November 2014. According to the new regulations, nationals from Australia, Germany, Israel, New Zealand, South Africa, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States will have to pay a USD30 visa fee, valid for a period of 30 days. The visa fee can be paid upon arrival at any Rwandan entry point without prior application. According to Rwanda'sDirectorate of Immigration and Emigration, the country's border posts will have banking facilities that accept various currencies as well as effecting payments. Citizens of Hong Kong, Singapore, the Philippines and from Mauritius remain exempted from having to pay a visa fee for stays up to 90 days under a tourist visa. Also available for tourists is the East African Single Tourist Visa at a cost of USD100. The joint visa covers Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda and is valid for up to 90 days for foreign tourists.

27 October 2014

The Gondwana Game Reserve, located in the heart of the Garden Route about 25 minutes outside the coastal town of Mossel Bay, has recently introduced 800 new animals. The 11,000ha Big Five reserve received herds of Eland, Gemsbok, Blue Wildebeest, Springbok, Red Hartebeest, Waterbuck as well as two adult female elephants and their three young. A pod of hippo and a new female cheetah will be introduced in the near future. Gondwana Game Reserve's pride of lion also welcomed two new cubs which were recently seen on game drive for the first time since their mother was denning. These introductions have taken the wildlife population in the Gondwana Game Reserve to the highest density it has ever been.

24 October 2014

According to the latest statistics released by the Department of Environmental Affairs, South Africa
has lost 899 rhinos to illegal poaching since the beginning of
2014. Of the rhinos poached, 581 rhinos were killed in the Kruger National Park, 109 in Limpopo, 74 in KwaZulu Natal,57 in Mpumalanga, 53 in the North West,14 in the Eastern Cape, 4 in the Free State, 3 in Gauteng, 2 in the Northern Cape and 1 in the Western Cape.A total of 282 people have been arrested for rhino poaching-related offences in South Africa since January this year. Latest rhino poaching figures (as of 24 October 2014):

The Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) is urging members of the public to report incidents of rhino poaching
or any tip-offs to the anonymous tip-off lines 0800 205 005, 08600 10111 or Crime-Line on 32211.

23 October 2014

The organisers of the Absa Cape Epic, routinely referred to as "the Tour de France of mountain biking", have just released the official 2015 route video. The race will last eight days (15 - 22 March 2015) and will cover 739km with 16 000m of climbing. It starts from the University of Cape Town in Cape Town with stops in Elgin, Worcester and Wellington before the race ends at the Meerendal Wine Estate in Durbanville.

22 October 2014

Great news for the South African tourism industry. Lonely Planet ranked South Africa second in the "Best Value Destination for 2015" category in next year's editon of Best in Travel. Congratulations! The travel guide book publisher names the following reasons for selecting South Africa as the second best country to stretch your travel budget in 2015:

"Currency fluctuations mean that for certain travellers South Africa is more affordable than it has been for many years. Instead of just rejoicing in the undercooked rand, consider what South Africa offers value-seeking travellers at any time. How about fantastically accessible wildlife watching for all budgets, bargain public (and traveller-friendly) transport and free entry to many of the country’s museums? Most visitors will find something to please their budget, whether it’s a cheap-and cheerful Cape Town seaside cafe or an affordable safari campsite. Come in South Africa's shoulder seasons (March to May, September and October) for the best combination of low crowds and comfortable weather." [Read more]

Best in Travel
is produced annually as a guide to the top destinations, trends and
experiences for the upcoming year. Other countries on Lonely Planet's list of Best Value Destinations for 2015 include Tunisia (#1), Shanghai (#3), Samoa (#4), Bali (#5), Uruguay (#6), Portugal (#7), Taiwan (#8), Romania (#9) and Burkina Faso (#10).

21 October 2014

Lonely Planet has just rankend Namibia second in this year's Best in Travel - Top 10 Countries category. Congratulations! Best in Travel
is produced annually as a guide to the top destinations, trends and
experiences for the upcoming year. Other countries on the list include Singapore (#1), Lithuania (#3), Nicaragua (#4), Ireland (#5), Republic of Congo (#6), Serbia (#7), Philippines (#8), St Lucia (#9) and Morocco (#10).

update (10 Nov 2014): Zimbabwe and Zambia are going to introduce the so-called "Kaza uni-visa" on 28 November 2014. It will cost $50 and it will be bought at the tourist's point of entry. The visa, which is in its pilot phase, will last for 30 days.

update (23 Oct 2014): According to Tourism Update, the uni-visa for Zimbabwe and Zambia is still subject to cabinet approval. In a news update, Tourism Update quotes an official from the Zambia Department of Immigration saying that a "tentative" date had been set for November 28 but that it would definitely not be launched before then. We'll keep you posted!

The governments of Zimbabwe and Zambia will launch an uni-visa regime between the two countries at the World Travel Market (03-06 Novemer 2014) in London. The two countries expect that the implementation of the joint visa offers the opportunity to market shared national heritage (such as the Victoria Falls) and that it will boost tourist arrivals. We'll keep you posted!

According to aviation experts Airline Route, Ethiopian Airlines is set to introduce a new service to Tokyo, Japan. From 01 April 2015 the airline will operate three weekly flights between Addis Ababa Bole International Airport (ADD) in Addis Ababa and Narita International Airport (NRT) in Tokyo via Hong Kong International Airport (HKG) in Hong Kong. As a result, Ethiopian Airlines' overall service to Hong Kong will increase from four to seven weekly flights.

17 October 2014

Fair Trade Tourism (FTT),
a South African NGO that encourages and monitors fair and responsible
practises in tourism establishments and activities, recently added five businesses on Madagascar to the family of FTT-certified businesses.

These tourism businesses all adhere to the FTTstandard and use the FTTlabel as a way of signifying their commitment to fair and responsible tourism. This includes fair wages and working conditions, fair purchasing and operations, equitable distribution of benefits and respect for human rights, culture and the environment.Specific initiatives range from contributing to the education of children in the local communities and offering health clinics on their premises to working with local fishermen and fish farmers, in order to support them in making their businesses more profitable and more resilient. Recognizing the importance of preserving the local farming sector and increasing the value generated from agriculture, FTT-certified businesses provide local farmers with the necessary tools as well as sharing technical and commercial knowledge with them. The businesses are also dedicated to water and energy savings and make use of local handicrafts to decorate their rooms.

16 October 2014

While visiting Cape Town, photographer Eric Cheng filmed a short aerial video of the Mother City and its surrounding area with his DJI Phantom 2 Quadcopter and his GoPro HERO 3+ Black. Locations include Lion's Head, Table Mountain, Cape Point, Hout Bay, Simon's Town and Seal Island; the footage includes great white sharks from above at Seal Island, an aggregation of spotted gully sharks/sharptooth houndshark in the surf near Cape Point in Table Mountain National Park and a brown fur seal surfing in the waves. Awesome! Kudos Eric!

14 October 2014

Namibia's Minister of Environment and Tourism, Uahekua Herunga, has officially opened the gates of Mangetti National Park for tourism and the general public on 10 Oct 2014. The park, which covers 420km² of savanna landscape, is home to variety of large mammal species such as elephant, eland, rhino, blue wildebeest, plain zebra, giraffe and the rare sable antelope as well as to predators such as leopard, hyena and the extremely rare and endangered African wild dog. According to Minister Uahekua Herunga, Mangetti National Park has a reception centre and proper road network; various species of game have also been reintroduced to the park to boost the already existing populations.

Mangetti National Park, which is situated in the eastern Kalahari woodlands about 110km south west of Rundu in Namibia'sKavango West Region, was already proclaimed a National Park on 15 September 2008.